from the a-trend dept

This morning we wrote about Vodafone's decision to release a much more accurate "transparency report" that actually revealed that many governments have direct access to listen in on Vodafone calls. It appears that has now inspired Deutsche Telekom to release similar reports about its surveillance help around the globe, including in the US.

A spokeswoman for Deutsche Telekom, which has 140 million customers worldwide, said: "Deutsche Telekom has initially focused on Germany when it comes to disclosure of government requests. We are currently checking if and to what extent our national companies can disclose information. We intend to publish something similar to Vodafone."

Of course, that "checking" suggests that while it may want to reveal similar to what Vodafone did, it will be limited in how much it can reveal in the US, where companies are often placed under strict (and almost certainly unconstitutional) gag orders. As the report notes, in Europe, this leaves Orange as the only one of the big three mobile operators who has not yet agreed to reveal such transparency on surveillance -- and it may put that company in a tough spot, since it apparently has "deep links" with French intelligence.

Either way, it's nice to see an outbreak in transparency when it comes to government surveillance.

Reader Comments

knowing a phone company is passing on your information is one thing. having the means to prevent it or to scramble it is another. although 99% of what is gathered is of no use to anyone other than the intended, making people feel safe when they communicate with others is the thing. email, txt, chat, calls, all communications should be encrypted now regardless, with no way the authorities can access them!